Elite Traveler May-June 2017

73

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2017

81 De Librije Zwolle, Netherlands Head Chef: Jonnie Boer Contact +31 388 530 000, info@librije.com librije.com Returning Entry « 82 Quintonil Mexico City, Mexico Head Chef: Jorge Vallejo Contact +52 555 280 1660 quintonil.com Head Chef: Mauro Colagreco Contact reservation@mirazur. fr, +33 492 418 686 mirazur.fr 2016/80 ▼ 84 Benu San Francisco, US Head Chef: Corey Lee Contact contact@benusf.com, +1 415 685 4860 benusf.com 2016/81 ▼ 85 Adaa Hyderabad, India Head Chef: Sajesh Nair Contact falaknuma. hyderabad@tajhotels.com, +91 406 629 8585 taj.tajhotels.com 2016/91 ▲ 86 Le Cinq Paris, France Head Chef: Christian Le Squer Contact lecinq.par@ 2016/79 ▼ 83 Mirazur Menton, France

least another 25 years. I have noticed that the idea of Octaphilosophy has made other chefs rethink their identity, too. Some chefs started to look at what they wanted their core message to be throughout the dishes they created. We cannot create without identity or a core message, otherwise it has no substance and becomes meaningless. What influence do you think you’ve had on the dining scene in Singapore, and farther afield? Singapore didn’t have an internationally-known iconic restaurant of its own before I arrived. Ten years ago, when I arrived in Singapore, I saw the potential and the energy of a city that was craving a breakthrough, something unique of its own, and a transformation from having everything that other people have to having something other people don’t have. Restaurant André is a unique restaurant that serves only 30 guests every night, with no menu, eight distinctive elements, daily changing dishes and a farm of two hectares for its own vegetables, as well as only serving the best selection of natural biodynamic wines from France. Now we can say that we have given something very special to Singapore. Do you continually create new dishes to reflect the seasons? Yes, the restaurant is only open when I am there, and I am continually creating new dishes throughout the seasons, or faster than the seasons arrive most of the time. Do you have a signature dish, or any that you’ve been especially proud of? Warm foie gras jelly with a black truffle coulis is a dish I came up with in 1997. It was the first dish I created. Are there any chefs you’re particularly inspired by or whose cuisine you find exciting? I’m excited by the work of French chefs Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Troisgros, Jacques and Laurent Pourcel and Pascal Barbot [chef André worked under each of these esteemed chefs while honing his craft in France]. Do you have any new projects in progress? I am working on a new book, which is about Taiwan’s 24 micro-seasons. This includes everything we rely on from nature, from fruit and vegetables, to people and lifestyle. I’m looking at how we adapt the 24 micro-seasons to the cuisine of [Taipei restaurant] RAW. By Lauren Jade Hill

fourseasons.com, +33 149 527 154 restaurant-lecinq.com 2016/82 ▼ 87 La Palme d’Or Cannes, France

Head Chef: Christian Sinicropi Contact +33 492 987 414 cannesmartinez.grand.hyatt. com New Entry «